NURS 6501 Week2 Assignment – Adaptive Response

NURS 6501 Week2 Assignment – Adaptive Response

NURS 6501 Week2 Assignment – Adaptive Response

Abstract

Advanced practice nurses need to know how the body functions on a normal basis and be able to identify when the body might be going through a change that is abnormal.  Inflammation and adaptive responses are similar.  The body uses adaptive responses to help fight off infections or invaders in the body. There is several scenarios that will be discussed in the paper that will include the pathophysiology of the disorder and their associated alterations.

 

Adaptive Response

Advanced practice nurses must be able to understand how the body functions in a normal state and be able to know when the body is changing.  The body has several defense mechanisms that help protect itself from infection and injury. The bodies outside cover is called the skin, it is a barrier to the outside world. These barriers are composed of tightly associated epithelial cells of the skin and of the linings of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary and respiratory tract (Huether, 2017).  The second line of defense is the innate immunity. The innate immunity responds to tissue injury and infection. The protection of the innate immunity includes vascular response, cellular components (e.g. mast cells, neutrophils, macrophages), secretory molecules or cytokines, and activation of plasma protein systems (Huether, 2017). The third line of defense is adaptive (acquired) immunity which is initiated when innate immune system signals cells of the adaptive immunity (Huether, 2017).

 

Pathophysiology

Pathophysiology or physiopathology is a convergence of pathology with physiology (Wikipedia, 2018). Pathology is the medical discipline that describes conditions typically observed during a disease state, whereas physiology is the biological discipline that describes processes or mechanisms operating within an organism (Wikipedia, 2018). Pathophysiology is a medical discipline that focuses on the function and symptoms of diseased organs (duq.edu, n.d.). It consists of disease, etiology, signs, symptoms, investigations, diagnosis, treatment and finally the prognosis to help nurses and physicians to determine what the person might have and how to treat them. Pathophysiology goes hand in hand with evidence based practice.

Scenario 1 pathophysiology and adaptive response

In scenario (1), there is a 2 year old named Jennifer.  Jennifer’s mother is concerned because she has been running a temperature off and on, is fussy, and not eating her breakfast. An examination of Jennifer reveals her bodies adaptive responses is:a temp of 102.8, skin hot and dry, throat erythematous with 4+ tonsils and diffuse exudates with cervical nodes palpable and clearly tender to touch on the left side and her throat hurts and is painful to swallow. Jennifer is diagnosed with tonsillitis. There are complications with tonsillitis that include peritonsillar abscess, cellulitis and difficulty breathing. The management of severe bacterial tonsillitis requires the use of antibiotics (Huether, 2017). Some children with recurrent tonsillitis benefit from adenotonsillectomy (Huether, 2017).

 

Scenario 2, pathophysiology and adaptive response

Scenario (2), is a man named Jack.  He presents to the clinic with irritation and redness of his hands. Jack’s wife was concerned that be might have an allergy.  He is not allergic to anything that he knows of.  Jack did say that he is a maintenance engineer and he works with abrasive solvents and chemicals.  Jack usually wears gloves but there was a shortage.  Jacks examination reveals that his bodies adaptive response is that his hands are red, irritated and flaky. Jack’s diagnosis is contact dermatitis. Allergic contact dermatitis is a common form of cell-mediated or delayed hypersensitivity (Huether, 2017). The response is related to an interaction of skin barrier function, reaction to irritants, and neuronal responses (Huether, 2017). As the allergen contacts the skin, the allergen is bound to a carrier protein (Huether, 2017). The Langerhans cells (atigen presenting dendritic cells) process the antigen and present it to T cells (Huether, 2017). T cells then become sensitized to the antigen, inducing the release of inflammatory cytokines and the symptoms of dermatitis (Huether, 2017).

 

 Scenario 3, pathophysiology and adaptive response

 In scenario (3), Martha is a 65 year old woman that recently retired and is now taking care of her mother.  Martha’s medical history is hypertension which has been controlled with hydrochlorothiazide. Lately she has not been able to sleep, losing her appetite and feels like her heart is racing. Martha’s examination reveals that her bodies adaptive responses are racing heartbeat, not being able to sleep and no appetite. Martha was asked several questions during her examination to find out more information.  Since Martha’s mom wakes up very early, Martha has been drinking a lot of coffee throughout the day which would cause her to have a racing heartbeat and insomnia.  She also has been feeling a little depressed which would cause her not to eat.

 

Summary

ARNPs will learn to understand how the body works and when the body is going through some changes in order to try to protect itself from danger (bacteria, viruses, etc). Experience will be the way the ARNP will learn how the body reacts in different situations. It is amazing how the body goes through adaptive responses to protect itself.

 

NURS 6501 Week2 Assignment – Adaptive Response

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References

Duquesne University (Producer) (2018). What is pathophysiology, and how does it relate to nursing? Retrieved from https://onlinenursing.duq.edu/blog/what-is-pathophysiology-and-how-does-it-relate-to-nursing/

Hammer, G. G., & McPhee, S. (2014). Pathophysiology of disease: An introduction to clinical medicine. (7^th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Huether, S. E., & McCance, K. L. (2017). Understanding pathophysiology (6^th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Zimbron, J. (2008). Mind maps—Dementia, endocarditis, and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) (PDF). Retrieved from http://www.medmaps.co.uk/beta/

Wikipedia (2018). Pathophysiology. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathophysiology